In Saving the Imperfect

30. Determined our paths

Layne looked at the buildings from a distance. He knew they weren't welcome there – Adan had made it clear the last time. He wasn't sure he even wanted to return and leant more towards the 'no.' Not that they had anywhere else to go.

"We shouldn't be stopping now," said Alana. "We're almost there."

He nodded and picked up the pace. There wasn't a good reason to try to delay the inevitable. He was going to face Adan again. He wouldn't throw them out again. Not after they'd tell him about Victor's plans. Or, so he hoped.

When they got closer, Malia looked around and gasped in awe. "How come they live in actual houses? All we had were... Barely standing cabins."

Layne shrugged. He didn't feel like discussing any of that. He was too busy preparing himself mentally.

"Stop!" He heard the voice before he even saw the people. There were three of them, each armed with a knife. He was relieved to see one of them being Diana. Her face was stone cold but she was just a kid. A kid who met him once.

She looked directly at him, ignoring the rest of the group. "What are you doing back here? What are they doing here?"

Malia clutched on Layne's upper arm. He couldn't blame her – he didn't exactly tell them how those people treated those who aren't their own.

"We need to talk to Adan," he replied.

Diana frowned. "About what?"

"We'd like to talk to him in private."

She squeezed her lips and exchanged looks with her 'friends'. They hesitated but eventually, one of them gestured them to follow. A short, middle-aged man. The least menacing looking person of the three of them, so, Layne was glad when the other two stayed behind.

"Thanks," he said to the man. He only shook his head and continued moving forward.

They stopped by one of the houses, no different than all the rest, and he knocked at the door. A couple of minutes later, it opened up and revealed Adan's figure. For a short while, he just looked at the man, until his eyes moved onto Layne and his group and widened.

"What's going on?" he asked in a stern voice.

The man just nodded at him and left. Layne stood forward and offered Adan his hand. He didn't move and only frowned, looking Layne in the eyes.

"What is it?" Adan's voice deepened.

"You were friendlier before," Layne commented. Adan didn't reply, so he continued. "We wanted to warn you, but if that's how it is, we can leave."

"Layne!" Alana protested and spoke to Adan. "Good day. My name's Alana, this is Malia and Iker. We ran away so that we could tell you that Victor's planning an attack on you."

Hostility disappeared from the man's face. "An attack? What?"

"I'm afraid we don't know many details, but Victor has started turning the people against you, telling about you keeping Coden hostage and how people died before because of you. He says they need to make an end to you all because you're a threat to their safety. Most seem to believe that."

"We tried to tell the truth to at least some of them," Malia added. "But it didn't... It didn't turn out good and we lost Iker's brother."

Adan thought for a bit. "You're not trying to fool me, are you?"

"Dude," Layne spat out. "We're not the ones selling people out to freaking Victor."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Ok," he said after a while. "Alright. Thank you. I need to discuss it with the leaders so we can decide on what actions to take."